If you can tap your feet in time to music while not playing the whistle, and without focusing all of your mind on that one task then you should be able to incorporate it well enough in time (hopefully there is some inherent rhythm that comes naturally).
Well, I can bounce the baby on my knee, in time to the music.
And now there was no doubt that the trees were really moving - moving in and out through one another as if in a complicated country dance. ('And I suppose,' thought Lucy, 'when trees dance, it must be a very, very country dance indeed.')
I can help with this one. When I started playing bagpipes my rhythm was really bad. One of the things we Highland Pipers do is march in parades, so learning to tap feet is kind of necessary.
Here's how to start. Get a metronome (there are free computer versions, or you can use a cheap one at a music store. A clock with a clicking second hand will work too).
To start, just tap your foot with the metronome and then play simple note changes. A scale up and down, or even just D E D E D E, etc. When you can do that, one foot tap and one note change per click, then try other combinations. One foot tap for each two notes DE DE DE DE. Then one for four DEDEDEDE DEDEDEDE or three DED EDE DED EDE. You can see where I'm going.
The next step is to throw in some quarter notes.
When you can do all of that pretty comfortably -- and it shouldn't take too long really -- maybe 15 minutes a day for a couple days -- then you can try it with a tune. Pick an easy reel and set your metronome. Tap your foot with the metronome and then play the tune. It's hard at first, but if you continue to work at it you will notice improvement pretty quickly.
It's important to keep in mind that when you are learning new skills your brain requires sleep prior to progress. So practice just a little if you're not getting it, and then try again the next day.
I know some people will say that you shouldn't use a metronome. These people are either a) naturally rhythmic and thus not needing a tool to help them out, or b) not as rhythmic as they'd like you to believe. The people I know who are the most musically rhythmic all use metronomes.
Tell us something.: I play traditional Irish and Scottish music. "The beginner should approach style warily, realizing that it is an expression of self, and should turn resolutely away from all devices that are popularly believed to indicate style — all mannerisms, tricks, adornments. The approach to style is by way of plainness, simplicity, orderliness, sincerity."
Id agree totally with HP. I would add a few things though. What is important IMO is to regulate the distance of tap, so to develop a rhythm the foot needs to move the same [ similar] distance each time and maintain speed, as you can imagine if the foot travels different distances then to maintain pace it would have to move at various different speeds to arrive on the beat.
Also there are many possibilities of tap. eg just big toe, or single foot just ball of foot, or heel and ball raised together or just heel, both feet tap , etc etc I personally use heel toe heel toe. What is more Im actually dancing to the music so its quite a good exercise to tap/dance to a recording. [ in more ways than one!]
Perhaps surprisingly also its a physical job that requires muscular developement, so dont expect to be able to tap for long periods of time .... So from the start develop both feet, try to maintain strength of tap with both feet so the listener cant discern which foot is tapping or where a transfer from foot to foot occurs. I use hard leather soled shoes for percussive tapping. the Sole of the shoe will also bear upon your activity, ie a trainer will give a very different response to bare foot or hard sole.
The big toe tap is a useful tool to develop, no one can see or hear the tap! but its there. Personally I prefer not to tap as Im busy enough as it is, but It can be a very usefull addition to a large session to have a clear rhythmic tap that is audible in a different wavelength to the tunes and instruments, just as can Bodhran and bones.
The mind is like a parachute; it only works when it is open.
Heres a few tunes round a table, first three sets;
Okay, lesson 3 in Bill Ochs' beginner CD (the one he offers free for download for kiddos) is a foot-tapping exercise simple enough even for me. Just thought I'd share.
Coming back to the topic to re-read, since I have been unfaithful [hangs head in shame] at foot-tapping practice. However, it's getting better.
Strangely, I found that something clicked when 1) I quit trying to use my foot-tapping as a metronome and started following my playing instead, and 2) (please don't throw any tomatoes) I listened to something else on the headphones while I was playing...talky type stuff like Car Talk, etc. It actually helped not to try too hard, all the practice on my paltry set of tunes sort of kicked in, and I was able to tap without concentrating. Still needs improvement, but it's coming along.
I also finally racked up enough Swagbucks to order Bill Ochs' book and CD set. Can't wait until it arrives! I'm hoping it gets me across this plateau and excelsior! again, and all that.
WhistleWhileyouWork wrote:My feet are huge and tapping them drowns out the drummer and scares small children, so I use my big toe (Discreet and I seem to keep better time)
I never tap but I do catch my heel rising and falling without ever hitting the ground. I'd argue it's more important to feel the rhythm/timing than hear it.
Jim
I wish I were a Lord Mayor, a Marquis or an Earl
And blow me if I wouldn't marry old Brown's girl
Blow me if I wouldn't marry old Brown's girl
emmdee wrote:I know a guy, great whistle player, whose foot taps 5/4 no matter what he's playing. Don't watch his feet under any circumstances!
I used to screw up the bodhran players that way without even trying. My friends know me for being a pretty rhythmic-style fluteplayer and I've played for dancers for years (keeping beat well enough to do the job, I expect, unless they've been complaining behind my back), but I could never foot-tap on the beat except with jigs for whatever reason; all the rest I'd tap in spastic fashion, with the occasional stomp for significant emotional emphasis. Now after nearing twenty years my ability to foot-tap has advanced (on its own!) to hornpipes, then polkas, and now - finally - reels. I honestly never thought it would happen. But FWIW, foot-tapping isn't going to keep you in any better rhythm than you play already.
"If you take music out of this world, you will have nothing but a ball of fire." - Balochi musician
It's driving us nuts.
